1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tapping data associated with internally mounted electronic devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for mounting interposers within a chassis housing electronic devices.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Monitoring, analyzing, and testing of data flow requires tapping into data streams to capture or sample the data. Tapping into internally mounted devices such as hard disk drive (HDD) arrays or printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) arrays presents significant challenges. These devices are typically mounted in a chassis frame or card cage with direct signal connections between the device (e.g. HDD or PCBA arrays) and a motherboard or backplane containing one or more sockets that can receive one or more additional circuit boards. The devices (e.g. HDD or PCBA arrays) are typically supported using some convenient installation or removal method such as card guides or mounting rails. Often, access to the interior of the chassis or cage, and particularly the signal connectors, is restricted or non-existent. A lack of standardization in the industry further exacerbates these challenges.
Methods and associated apparatuses for tapping into data streams carried by these systems typically involve the use of a tapping device commonly called an interposer. An interposer typically consists of a PCBA with input and output connectors that match the connectors of the tapping device and the backplane or motherboard within the chassis or cage. Although data is typically communicated bi-directionally through the interposer, the interposer connector that couples with the tapping device connector is defined herein as the “input connector” and the interposer connector that couples with the backplane connector of the chassis or cage is defined herein as the “output connector.”
During installation, the interposer can be first plugged into the tapped device and the tapped device can then be installed in the chassis or cage. A problem arises, however, in completing the second connection. Typically, the device connector, or the backplane connector, does not have the ability to support the interposer to maintain a required connector alignment. Further, because there is no access to the interior of the chassis or cage, manual alignment is not possible. Thus, what would be advantageous are apparatuses and associated methods for enabling interposers to be conveniently used with internally mounted devices such as hard disk drive arrays or PCBA arrays.